Combined guide and table structure



Oct. 27, 1953 H. J. WAECHTER COMBINED GUIDE AND TABLE STRUCTURE Filed Aug. 12, 1947 INVENTOR y. W /M x W ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 27, 1953 COMBINED GUIDE AND TABLE STRUCTURE Harry J. Waechter, Mount Healthy, Ohio, as-

signor to Paul bach, Hamilton,

Bennin ghofen and F. B. Dies- Ohio, trustees Application August 12, 1947, Serial No. 768,106

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to guiding apparatus and is particularly directed to a combined table and guide construction for use in guiding strips of paper as they are fed across the top of the table. The guide means of this invention has ready application to use in autographic registers wherein the guides maintain strips of paper for uniform guiding movement along the writing platen as they are fed through the register. In the past, structures of this general character have involved parts which were rather complex and extended, were in the way, and were diiiicult to adjust or to remove. Adjustment has usually required the loosening of screws and the alignment of parts.

It has been the object of the present inventor to provide an adjustable guide element which can be quickly applied to an edge of the writing platen or the table and which can be readily moved in and out to any desired adjusted position through the simple procedure of gripping the guide element in such manner as to detach its securing means and to quickly move it to the desired position.

It has been a further object of the present inventor to provide a guide of this nature which can be applied to the table structure without a reat deal of structural modification of the table. It is only necessary to provide grooves in the table surface in order to provide the necessary component attachment or locking means in the table.

It has been a still further object to provide adjustment guides which are of clip form and which can be readily manufactured from a single piece of metal by blanking out the metal and bending it to constitute the component members.

It has been a still further object of the present inventor to provide guides in which there is an inherent spring tension for holding them in the desired adjusted positions.

It has been a still further object to provide guides of this character which can be completely removed from the register in a matter of seconds so that if the user does not desire to have the guides on the machine they can be completely removed without destroying the appearance of the register or the structure.

Other objects and certain advantages will be more fully apparent from a description of the drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of a table or platen showing the guides of the present invention incorporated therein.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2--2,

2 Figure 1, illustrating, in detail, one of the guides in position.

Figure 3 is a sectional view Figure 2.

The guide of this invention, as stated, may be employed for a number of uses. It is shown herein applied to the edge or edges of a table structure such as the writing platen of an autographic register for the purpose of guiding paper along the platen. The guide and table structure are designed so as to permit adjustment of the guides to accommodate various widths of paper.

In the form shown, the guides are mounted at opposite edges of the guide table or platen. The table structure 9 as provided in this form includes inwardly extending notches or slots III at its opposite edges, these slots being directly opposite, that is in alignment crosswise of the table in the preferred form. In the form illustrated, which is the casing structure of an autographic register, the sides of the register include openings generally indicated at I l, the slots projecting inwardly from the upper edges of these openings. The slots may be made of any depth desired depending upon the amount of adjustment required.

Grooves l2 are provided along the top of the table longitudinally thereof. These grooves are interrupted by the slots l0 themselves, that is to say aligned portions of the grooves are present at either side of the slots. The grooves are spaced laterally with respect to the table and provide for fairly close adjustment of the guides. The grooves constitute the means on the table for securing the guides in adjusted positions and they are therefore of the correct length to accommodate the full width of the guide members which engage them. In the instance shown there are three grooves utilized and it will be realized that the number of grooves may be varied at will.

The guides are in the form of clip brackets, being generally indicated at I3. Generally speaking, in each instance they include an upper guide flange [4, an outer or back guide wall [5, spring clip portions l6 and detent edges I! for engaging the respective grooves I2.

Each clip is made up of a single piece of metal appropriately cut and bent to provide the guide and attaching portions. The flanges It in each case are disposed horizontally with respect to the platen when the guides are in working position. The outer or back walls I5 are disposed vertically and prevent outward or sidewise displacement of the sheets being guided. From the taken on line 33,

3 intermediate portion of the outer guide wall l5 each guide includes a loop section 18 terminating at its lower end in a substantially horizontally disposed spring member l9. This spring member [9 is curved at its outer end and engages the underside of the table or platen 9. That portion of the guide, namely the loop portion which is disposed within the slot 19 is reduced in Width so as to fit within the slot Ii], The spring arms are the full width of the guide. This notching out or narrowing of the Width of the guide makes it possible to provide the downwardly disposed slot engaging edges or detent edges 11 at either side of the slot Ii]. As shown in Figure 2, these edges 11 fit within the grooves, being held therein by virtue of the inherent spring pressure ap-: plied through the spring arms.

When it is desired to change the position of the guide, the operator merely lifts the upper portion of the guide, namely the upper guide flange, thus raising the locking edges from the groove in which they are disposed permitting inward or outward sliding motion of the guide whereby it may be locked again in relation to another one of the grooves.

Thus it will be apparent that a very emcient guide means is provided which will be efiective for preventing lateral shifting of the paper and will prevent iipwa'rd d spiaeement under normal conditions. tion beeause of the inherent spring tension and are not readily displaced from position unless the operator desires to 'rernove'them. The guides can be com letely removed from the table if desired by sliding them outwardly to the outer ends or the slots [0.

Having described my invention, I claim: The combination of a table for an autographlc register or the like and an adjustable guide unit for guiding strips of paper longitudinally of said table, said guide unit formed from a single piece or resilient sheet metal and comprisin a vertical The guides will remain firmly 1h posilongitudinal extent of said vertical wall, a plurality of grooves extending longitudinally of the table from opposite sides of said slot, a spring arm extending substantially parallelwithsaid hori- Zontal flange, said arm being wider than said slot and adapted to engage the underside of said table and thereby bias said vertical wall downwardly against the top of said table, said spring arm joined to the back wall by a connecting portion of reduced width adapted to fit into said slot, and the lower edges of the vertical back wall at the two sides of the connecting portion constituting groove engaging edges engageable in said grooves under the bias of said spring arm to lock the guide unit against displacement laterally with respect to said table.

HARRY J. WAECHTER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 78,130 Richards May 19, 1868 442,255 Jones -1 Dec. 9, 1890 448,753 Megill 1 Mar. 24, 1891 679,954 Kraushaar 11.; July 23, 1901 829,093 Anderson Aug. 21,1906 875,060 Gay Y Dec. 31, 1907 998,984 Garnmeter July 25, 1911 1,083,711 Trundle Jan. 6, 1914 1,179,274 Karl Feb. 1, 19 16 1,320,345 Smith Oct. 28, 1919 1,321,569 Stiles; ;1 Nov. 11, 1919 1,483,981 Megill 1 11 Feb. 19, 1924 1,833,027 LEn'fant 1 1 1 Nov. 24, 1931 1,872,945 Hebig Aug. 23, 1932 2,014,975 Meckler 1 1 Sept. 17, 1935 

